Cooking Pho All Night in the Heart of Seoul

Các bếp nấu phở đêm trong cái lạnh đầu thu của Seoul - Ảnh 1. — Chef Dao Dinh Nam, Caravelle Saigon Hotel cooks pho broth at 11pm

Bringing the pride of Vietnam to the land of kimchi, Vietnamese chefs and pho restaurant owners have united, stayed up all night, shared the kitchen space to produce the best bowls of pho, keeping the true flavor of their brand.

This year, to prepare for logistics, the organizers have arranged 5 preliminary processing points for pho cooking groups from Vietnam. And on the night of May 4, all these kitchens were lit up all night long, the atmosphere was bustling next to 50l or 100l pots of broth.

Các bếp nấu phở đêm trong cái lạnh đầu thu của Seoul - Ảnh 2. — Mr. Nguyen Dinh Tuyen, owner of Khoe restaurant, discussed with Mr. Nguyen Tuan Trung, owner of Phu Gia pho restaurant, about ingredients to prepare for Vietnam Pho Festival 2024.

Korea's strict regulations prohibiting cooking at outdoor events require careful planning and preparation to serve a crowded festival.

At the cooking spot on Gwangnaru-ro Street, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul of Saigontourist Group, at 11:30 pm, the space was still brightly lit. Chefs from the hotels Grand Saigon Hotel Restaurant, Saigon Morin Hue Hotel, Majestic Saigon Hotel, Thu Duc Golf Course Restaurant, Caravelle Saigon Hotel... were busy preparing dishes to serve at the festival on the morning of October 5.

Chef Dao Dinh Nam from Caravelle Saigon Hotel said the broth for the beef pho is almost done, and the cutting of meat and onions for the pho is still underway. After the elaborate pho, the chefs will start with other delicious dishes such as chicken sticky rice, banh loc, banh nam, etc.

Mr. Nguyen Huong, chef of Thu Duc Golf Course Restaurant, said that cooking pho is always the most elaborate and difficult. The broth of this pho brand has been simmered since early this morning with nearly 50kg of bones and meat of all kinds to ensure the sweetness of the bones and the addition of star anise, cinnamon, and herbs to help keep the color of the pho broth from being too brown.

At the cooking point of the Nam Sai Gon restaurant in Gangnam district, Nguyen Tien Hai, the Golden Star Anise, said that his team continuously simmered 150kg of bones and processed 120kg of meat. The quality of the pho bowls cooked in Korea retains the same flavor as in Vietnam.

“Koreans as well as Vietnamese people living here will feel the traditional flavor and dedication of the pho cooks,” Hai added.

Mr. Tran Trong Thuan, Deputy Head of SASCO's Food and Beverage Business Department, said that this year, SASCO continues to bring exclusive Pho Sen to the festival. Pho Sen - the perfect combination of the elegant lotus flavor and the quintessence of Vietnamese cuisine and the uniqueness of pho noodles will be the highlight for diners to remember this pho brand.

Hundreds of kilograms of bones, Korean beef and fresh pho noodles from Vietnam have been painstakingly prepared by chefs with the hope of conquering Korean diners, another opportunity to promote Vietnamese delicacies.

The Vietnam Pho Festival, held on October 5 and 6, 2024, will continue to bring pho to the world as a symbol of Vietnamese cuisine. Famous chefs from domestic pho restaurants will be present in Seoul, not only serving diners, but also writing a story about the increasingly deep integration and cultural exchange between Vietnam and Korea.